Attacks on Gig Workers in FL, CA Looking to Make Tech Companies Pay for News Content & More

Attacks on FL Gig Workers Raises Safety Concerns

Three attacks on app-based drivers within days of each other in Florida last month, one of which was fatal, have raised concerns about the safety of such workers. A report issued last week by the activist group Gig Workers Rising indicated that between 2017 and 2022, 80 app-based workers had died in homicides while on the job. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

CA Bill would Require Big Tech to Pay for News Content

Tech companies like Google and Meta would have to pay media outlets for using their news content under a bill (AB 886) that cleared a California Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing with bipartisan support last week. The measure would require at least 70 percent of the ad revenue generated from reported content to go to the news organizations that provided it. It would also prohibit tech companies from retaliating against a news outlet that demanded such payment by excluding its content from their platforms. (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, PLURIBUS NEWS, STATE NET)

WI to Weigh Social Media Curfew Bill

Proposed legislation being circulated for cosponsors in Wisconsin last week would require social media platforms to restrict minors’ access to their accounts between 10pm and 7am. Rep. David Steffen (R), the measure’s author, said it was modeled after legislation enacted in Utah in March (SB 152) requiring social media companies to verify the age of users and obtain parental consent for those under 18 but with some key differences, most notably his bill’s provision for a “master switch” allowing parents to turn the child safety mode on and off. (GREENBAY PRESS GAZETTE, ASSOCIATED PRESS)

ChatGPT New Lure for Malware Attacks

Meta said malware attackers are seeking to take advantage of public interest in ChatGPT to get users to download malicious apps and extensions. The company said that since March it had discovered about 10 malware families and over 1,000 malicious links promoted as tools associated with the popular chatbot. (REUTERS, INSURANCE JOURNAL)

FTC Considering Barring Meta from Profiting Off Kids’ Data

The FTC proposed barring Meta from monetizing children’s data due to violations of a 2020 privacy order. The agency said an independent assessment of the company’s privacy program—which the company agreed to as part of the 2020 settlement stemming from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal—revealed “several gaps and weaknesses” that posed “substantial risks to the public.” (CNBC)

Scientists Create AI System Capable of Translating Thoughts to Text

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a noninvasive AI system that can accurately translate an individual’s general thoughts or ideas into a stream of text about half of the time, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The researchers trained the system, which they call a semantic decoder, by directing study participants to listen to several hours of podcasts in an fMRI scanner, which measures brain activity. (CNBC)

–Compiled by KOREY CLARK

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